


xxi; Triage

by Theo_Thaur



Series: 31 Days of TUA Whump [29]
Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Pre-Canon, Angst, Gen, It seems like Reginald just had her taking the pills whenever she got emotional, Pre-Canon, Reginald Hargreeves' A+ Parenting, Teen Years, Vanya Hargreeves Needs A Hug, Vanya Hargreeves-centric, Whump, Whumptober 2020, Y'know Reginald I don't think that's a healthy choice
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-29
Updated: 2020-10-29
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:07:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,553
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27313801
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Theo_Thaur/pseuds/Theo_Thaur
Summary: Whumptober 2020 submission. No 29. "I THINK I NEED A DOCTOR": Intubation, Emergency Room, Reluctant Bedrest.------Vanya finds herself growing unexpectedly weak and tired, in a house that no longer holds her any warmth for her.
Relationships: Klaus Hargreeves & Vanya Hargreeves, Vanya Hargreeves & Everyone
Series: 31 Days of TUA Whump [29]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1951234
Comments: 5
Kudos: 79
Collections: Whumptober 2020





	xxi; Triage

**Author's Note:**

> TRIGGERS: misuse of medication, accidental overdose, drug addiction/drug usage references, child neglect, needles.

_xxix; Triage_

Morning. Again. Every day was starting to feel the same. Vanya got out of bed, changing from her night clothes into the uniform, brushing her hair out in the mirror, the bristles raking over her ear a few times and making her cringe. She went out to the shared bathroom, which currently housed both Diego and Luther. Allison was an early riser, she usually beat everyone else to the sink and Klaus was probably still sleeping, to which Grace would wake him up a second time a few minutes before breakfast. Like clockwork. Luther was fixing his hair in the bathroom mirror, making sure it was perfectly flicked up. Vanya stepped off to the side of the sink, picking up her toothbrush and deciding to not get in his way to wet it, putting toothpaste on the dry brush instead. 

"Hey, pretty boy, save some room for the rest of us," Diego asserted as best he could, with toothpaste in his mouth --really Vanya was just approximating what he said. Luther looked over at him, seeming annoyed, hands having fallen to his tie. Diego frowned, toothbrush sticking out the side of his mouth as he swat Luther on the back, trying to get him away from the sink, and the small mirror in front of the sink. Luther did step away, after a short pause, but probably because he figured if he didn't Diego would just spit toothpaste in at an angle and not care if it got onto Luther's sweater vest. ...It had happened that way before. Leaning over the sink Diego spat, before moving his mouth under the faucet to slurp up the water and rinse his mouth with.

"...Not all of us have mirrors in our bedrooms we can use, since not everyone needs to practice _speaking_ ," Luther said, which seemed to have taken him some time to come up with. Vanya stayed out of it, hand trembling slightly as she brushed, standing by the porcelain tub and not counting the seconds. Diego stood up, wiping at the water that ran down his chin.

"That was years ago. I'm older now. Move on before I _make_ you," he answered snappily, shoving past Luther and heading downstairs. Luther looked over at her once Diego had stormed off, and Vanya looked away.

"What? Stop staring. I'm not picking sides," she said all at once, surprising herself and Luther too, judging by the confusion she saw when she looked back up at him. Luther shook his head, before leaving the bathroom. Vanya spat out the toothpaste and washed her brush, gazing at herself in the mirror before gingerly putting her toothbrush in the assigned wall-mounted holder. She ran a hand through her hair, and decided she shouldn't have said anything like that. Luther probably wouldn't have forced her to say anything to begin with. He didn't usually value her opinion enough to ask, unless she volunteered that she agreed with him, and in that case her thoughts suddenly mattered. She went back into her room, locating the bottle of pills on her nightstand and the glass she kept beside it. Vanya didn't have so much of a schedule, as the advice to take it whenever her feelings welled up too much. She'd been taking them more frequently, but was trying to keep a handle on it. Klaus was enough of a reason to not get too dependent, but Klaus also provided her a false picture of what 'too far' was. When she saw herself, she didn't see a careless, rude, or unkempt person, so she supposed all was fine in her dosage. Filling up the glass, she swallowed down medication, and finding herself thirsty, helped herself to another glass of water. Vanya was halfway through her second glass when Klaus finally came out of his room. 

"Morning. How's the best violinist in the house doing?" Klaus asked, yawning, and putting toothpaste on a brush. 

"Isn't that Diego's?" She asked, after he'd popped the toothbrush into his mouth. Klaus froze, pulling it out slowly and looking at it. 

"What? No. 'Number Four' label, clear as day," he held it up to show her, and Vanya blinked, before nodding.

"Okay…" came the only reply, before she drank more water.

"Can you imagine, though? Not gonna say it hasn't happened before," Klaus answered, talking through his toothpaste. Brushing his teeth, he danced around in the bathroom while she watched. At one point, Vanya stared down into her water, watching the way it moved from one side of the glass to the other, with the way her hand shook as she held it. Klaus spat, before taking her pills up from the side of the counter. "You mind if I take some?" he asked. Vanya shrugged.

"I… I guess? No, I don't mind," she replied sheepishly. Klaus sighed, sitting it down. 

"If there's a god it's testing me right now." He leaned his back up against the sink, studying her, "a little _birdy_ ," he said pointedly, looking off to the side accusatorily, "has been on my ass for days now and says you're acting funny. Now most unlikely of all would you ever enable my habits with your own supply. So what's up? You're slow and jittery all at once. It's weird." Vanya didn't know how to take that onslaught of information, but it seemed like Klaus was telling her that she had a problem, which couldn't be further from the truth.

"Don't try and pin problems on me. I'm doing fine," Vanya replied, still managing to get a rise out of herself despite the medication. But that was normal, right? Lithium took time to actually work. Klaus looked a little hurt, but shrugged it off. 

"We share a wall. ...I've heard you playing your violin a little, okay? And it's not like usual. The notes are all scratchy and wrong," he said, face softening as he asked, "do you know what I mean?" Her cheeks flushed. Vanya was aware, she really hadn't been playing as well lately. It made her not want to pick up the instrument, but if she didn't she felt she'd fall even more out of practice. Vanya couldn't make herself happy either way.

"So you went through all this trouble for a noise complaint?" Vanya challenged. She might not be perfect but Klaus definitely wasn't either.

"Alriiight, from one outcast to another, fuck me I guess," he muttered, backing down quickly. "No, you know what? I tried. Shuddup," Klaus said louder, glaring at that same corner of the room. Vanya polished off her water, leaving the glass on the sink but making a point to take her pills away from Klaus. He leaned up against the wall, just watching her, probably waiting for her to leave to see if he could smoke a joint in the bathroom. After stowing her pills in her bedroom, Vanya went downstairs for breakfast, joining the others to wait beside the table, which Reginald sat at the head of.

"Everything is in place. Should I retrieve Number Four?" Grace asked Reginald gently, standing beside him. Reginald sighed, looking briefly at the remainder of his kids --Vanya, Diego, Luther, and Allison.

"No, however don't feed him when he comes downstairs. Let him see the consequences of his action," he answered, before gesturing everyone else to go to their seats. Mom stepped back, but complied and didn't go upstairs to check on Klaus. Vanya smoothed her skirt down under herself, it was cereal, yogurt, and fruit wedges that morning. The cereal never tasted like very much, the dryness had her reaching for her yogurt, and especially, her milk. Grace was soon over her shoulder, refilling her glass from the carton though the meal had hardly started. 

"You're going to have very healthy bones!" mom congratulated cheerily. Vanya had expected to feel more awake, she'd had tense moments with two people already that day, but found herself rubbing at her eyes and stifling yawns, because she knew those would upset Reginald. She drank from her glass with both hands, not really touching her food. Shivering, Vanya looked around the table. Diego was stabbing his food, Luther seemed a bit uncomfortable and kept pushing things around on his plate. Then there was Allison, who just looked polished like usual, if a bit sleepy. Vanya put her elbow down on the table, placing her head in her hand and trying to concentrate her vision. She spooned yogurt limply into her mouth. 

"Stop that this instant!" Reginald said suddenly. Vanya looked over at the others, bewildered, before realizing he was talking to her. She looked down at herself, it took her a moment to realize Reginald was upset about her elbow on the table. 

"Sorry, sir," she apologized, slurring the two words together.

"You should know better, Number Seven. I expect a more formalized response to your indolence," he answered, terse. Vanya nodded slowly.

"I...yeah. I'm sorry --my apologies-- for putting my elbow on the table," she amended. He shook his head, rejecting it but giving her no chance or prompt to improve. Vanya put her glass of milk up to her lips again, but at some point it started to dribble down her chin. Her hands shook and jerked too much for her to sip, but she kept the glass tilted back. She was too tired to notice, her skin already felt cold anyways so there was no change as it ran down her neck and dampened the collar of her uniform. Allison cleared her throat, looking at Vanya like something was funny. She frowned, confused.

"Number Seven!" Reginald hissed, hands slamming down on the table as he rose from his chair. Vanya looked over at him. "You are making a _fool_ of yourself! You will go to your room and, along with your brother, receive no food until lunchtime, when I re-evaluate the behavior of both of you." Vanya sat there, looking at him, still making a mess with the glass of milk tipped down. "Now!" he roared. Setting the glass down, she stood up, chair scraping against the floor. Wobbling in the direction of the main staircase, Vanya ran a hand through her hair thoughtlessly. It was damp. Starting up the staircase, she held onto the banister, tiring herself out with a few steps. Her vision grew spotty at the edges, Vanya looked over at her family, to try and decide what they were thinking about her or maybe to ask for help, she wouldn't fully know. The faces were hazy and the world dropped out into nothingness around her.

\------*´｡*ﾟ

A machine beeped beside her. Vanya opened her eyes. It was like morning all over again, minus almost every detail --though she couldn't remember all too well much of anything from the day, so really it was just like morning. She looked down to see a needle stuck into an artery, at the backside of her elbow. There was a second needle, the tube of which intertwined with a metal pole that she would guess held an IV bag. White walls, light-colored wood, a phone on the wall, a box of disposable medical gloves… Normal hospital furnishings, it seemed like, but something was wrong. Vanya didn't realize what that was until she looked over the room again, turning her head slightly to see Grace, sitting with her arms in her lap, posture neat and calm. "Oh, you're awake now. Hello dear," she said, smiling.

"What's going on?" Vanya asked. Noticing mom, who looked so out of place in any environment that wasn't the academy --and not just because of her dated clothing--, had served as the striking reminder. She was in a medical bed, but not the one in the academy. "Why am I here?" Grace rearranged her purse in her lap.

"Your father believed it was better to have space and resources at home for the others. Around ten minutes into my testing and monitoring of your condition, Sir Reginald received a pressing mission call," she explained happily. Vanya looked away, not wanting to let anything show on her face as she decided what to make of that. Mom was a fine lady, but she was a product of Reginald. What she meant to say, was that Reginald hadn't wanted Vanya taking up space in the family infirmary, in case any of the others came home with an injury from the mission. That was more admirable, wasn't it? More important. She'd be drawing from the precious resources of the home stores, taking up space in a bed that should be prioritized for people that were actually special, people that had fought for something.

"So like… triage?" Vanya asked weakly.

"Precisely!" Grace chirped. It wasn't a surprise, Reginald probably would've said that to her face. Vanya didn't know why it still hurt.

"...What's wrong with me?" Vanya asked finally, not looking back at Grace when she did.

"You took too many lithium pills. It's toxic if you allow your body to absorb too much of it," she explained sweetly. Vanya hadn't asked that question expecting an answer, it hadn't been meant to be direct. Reginald had never bothered to tell her about limits. But each pill had still brought her closer and closer to the boundary, until she was finally pushed over. Only in the aftermath could she see how harmful, how obvious the effects were.

"Are any of the others coming to see me?" Vanya didn't know why she asked. She knew the answer, she had a sinking feeling in her gut, and could imagine mom pursing her lips, forehead creasing lightly before she shook her head.

"No sweetheart, I don't believe they will. They're very busy at the moment." _And after that…?_ Vanya sighed quietly. They wouldn't have come at all, she was certain of it. It stung, but it wasn't anything new. Some people made a big deal of those that were alone, but being alone wasn't always a sad thing. It didn't have to be. Vanya felt like she was happier with herself than she would've been with any of the 'family' she had left. They already saw her as weak and unfortunate, there was no need to invite them to gawk at her in a hospital bed, like they hadn't all been sent to the academy's infirmary before. But even she knew this was different. Vanya hadn't been put into the hospital due to an act of bravery, Reginald had just never put in the effort to instruct her on how to stay alive, just like he'd never trained her, never given her tips on the violin he'd allowed her to use, never acknowledged her as a member of the academy. Vanya closed her eyes, and drew forth a comforting image, though it made her throat feel tighter. Next to mom, on the side of the room, in those identical plastic chairs sat Five and Ben. Five swung his feet a little, seeming bored and antsy but still looking over at her constantly. Ben had a book in his lap, but he didn't seem to really be reading it. He gave her a warm smile, waving a little. She was loved. She was looked after.

It wasn't a _new_ daydream. Not at all. Just something to get through the hard days.


End file.
